Why it’s time to be recklessly generous and relentlessly kind

“We need a million Martin Luther Kings to show up right now.”—Kyle Cease

Josh Radnor, the guy who played Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother, is one of my heroes. He meditates daily and knows the inner landscape (not the trappings of Hollywood) is the important thing. I thought it would be a good time to bring up one of his quotes, perhaps my favorite, about kindness.

Here’s what he said:

“It’s not our job to play judge and jury, to determine who is worthy of our kindness and who is not. We just need to be kind, unconditionally and without ulterior motive, even – or rather, especially – when we’d prefer not to be.”

When we choose kindness and generosity in whatever situation we find ourselves, to whomever happens to be in front of us, it opens a crack that enables us to see a whole different reality.

That tiny twist—a smile, offering a hand, even just being generous in thought—not only changes the inner landscape, but it creates a ripple effect. It reminds us, “Here’s how the world could be.”

Generosity doesn’t fit the narrative, not in a me-me-me world. And that’s the very thing that shakes up the old story, the very thing that flips the dominant paradigm.

Which is why Kyle Cease is spot on–the world is crying out for a whole country full of Martin Luther Kings.

Pam Grout is the author of 18 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality and the about to be released, Thank and Grow Rich: a 30-day Experiment in Shameless Gratitude and Unabashed Joy